GS Publications Serving Public

Parmeshwar Devkota

Gorkhpatra Sansthan (GS), the country's oldest publishing house, has been publishing two newspaper - Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal – and three monthly magazines – Madhupark, Yuba Munch and Muna. Madhuparka is dedicated to the promotion of literary, art and culture while Yuba Much focuses on youths and Muna on the children. 

Madhuparka recently celebrated its 57th anniversary in Kathmandu. As in the previous years, the publication presented this year’s ‘Madhupark Samman'  to senior literary critic Professor Krishna Gautam, poet Manju Kanchuli and storywriter Kishore Pahadi for their exceptional contribution to the genre of criticism, poetry and story writing.

Professor Gautam said the names of all the publications of GS have deep meaning and the past generations were more serious about producing literary works compared to the today's generation. The term 'Madhuparka' denotes a mixture of ghee, curd, water, honey and molasses, meaning that it gives various literary flavours. 

As Professor Gautam said, the names of other publications of GS have symbolic meanings. As for example, Muna monthly magazine, which is dedicated to informing, entertaining and educating children, stands for ‘young and tender foliage’. The English daily, The Rising Nepal, means that Nepal is rising and moving on the path of advancement. Likewise, 'Yuba Manch' contains two words- Yuba (youth) and Mancha (forum). The youth magazine offers a vibrant platform for the youths to engage in constructive debates on their issues so as to unlock their potential and solve their problems. 

Similarly, term Gorkhapatra derives from Gorkha, now a district west of Kathmandu. Gorkha was a small state and its king Prithvi Narayan Shah unified Nepal divided into dozens of principalities. The oldest Nepali vernacular daily has historic legacy. It has been informing the public in authentic manner while promoting Nepali language and literature. It has objectively portrayed the social, economic and cultural life of people, and defended national interest in the time of political tumult. The daily is covering the news and views in over forty languages and dialects of various ethnic groups and no other newspaper is promoting the mother tongues of marginalised communities. 

Highlighting on the contribution made by the Maduparka monthly, Gorkhapatra journalist Deepak Shrestha said, "If literary activities fetched money, big private publication houses would have conducted on a large-scale". 

Responding to the allegations that a chunk of budget is spent on publishing Madhuparka, managing editor of the Gorkhapatra daily Junar Babu Basnet said, "We do not care of loss or profit when we invite the father of daughter-in-law for the dinner". 

Due to revolution in communication sector and post COVID-19 sluggish economy, the private print media of Nepal and elsewhere are facing survival crisis but the publications of GS are running smoothly, serving to the people.